Rutherford, NJ – April 25, 2019 – Felician University announces that Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark; Gurbir Grewal, Attorney General of New Jersey; and Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, will be the Honorary Degree recipients for this year’s graduation ceremonies.

Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R.

Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., will receive an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree at the Baccalaureate Mass on May 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Chapel on Felician’s Lodi campus. He has been the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, following his appointment by Pope Francis and installation on January 6, 2017. Previously he served as Superior General of the Redemptorist Fathers and Archbishop of Indianapolis. He was named a Cardinal in November, 2016. Cardinal Tobin has participated in five Synods of Bishops and has been a member of the Canon Law Society of America since 1985. He attended Holy Redeemer College, Waterford, WI, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1975. He attended Mount Saint Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus, NY, earning the degrees of Master in Religious Education in 1977 and Master of Divinity in Pastoral Theology in 1979. He is a strong advocate of increased acceptance of immigrants into the United States and of a lenient position towards those who are in the country illegally, as well as a proponent of increasing the role of women in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Tobin speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, and reads several other languages.

Gurbir Singh Grewal

Gurbir Singh Grewal will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree at the School of Arts & Sciences and School of Education Commencement ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on May 18 at the Breslin Performing Arts Center on the Lodi campus.. Mr. Grewal was appointed Attorney General of the State of New Jersey by Governor Murphy and assumed the office on January 16, 2018. Since then, Attorney General Grewal has focused his attention on protecting the interests of New Jersey residents by expanding affirmative litigation, strengthening police-community relations, reducing violent crime and fighting the opioid epidemic. Before becoming New Jersey Attorney General, Mr. Grewal served as Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement officer of the most populous county in New Jersey and home to nearly 1 million residents living in 70 municipalities. As Bergen County Prosecutor, Mr. Grewal supervised a staff of 265 personnel and had supervisory authority over approximately 2,700 sworn law enforcement officers across 74 law enforcement agencies. Mr. Grewal received his Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and his J.D. degree from College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe Law School.

Robert Charles Garrett

Robert Charles Garrett will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the School of Business and School of Nursing commencement ceremony at 3:30 p.m. on May 18 at the Breslin Performing Arts Center on the Lodi campus. Mr. Garrett received his Bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University and his Master of Health Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Garrett is currently the CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest health network including 17 hospitals, 500 patient care locations, 34,000 team members and 6,500 physicians. Mr. Garrett. Under Mr. Garrett’s leadership, the network opened the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, formed an historic partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and secured the network’s merger with New Jersey’s largest behavioral health provider to dramatically improve access and the quality of care for addiction treatment and mental illness in New Jersey and beyond. He was featured in The CEO Forum’s “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare in America” this year, on ROI Influencers: Power List 2019 and 2018 and was ranked #1 in the NJBIZ 2017 “Power 50 Health Care” list. He was also ranked on the 2017 “NJBIZPower 100: The Most Powerful People in New Jersey Business” list for six consecutive years.

About Felician University

Felician University engages over 2,300 undergraduate, graduate, and adult students through programs in Arts & Sciences, Business, Nursing, and Education. Universal Franciscan values of social justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity serve as an inclusive foundation for transforming the lives of tomorrow's leaders. Felician University's education is ranked 3rd best return on investment for private colleges in New Jersey 2018 by the PayScale.com College ROI Report and is ranked #1 safest college campus in the state by niche.com.